1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to one or more stabilizers for a dental implant, a dental implant system including one or more stabilizers, and a method for implantation.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
When a patient has lost one or more teeth due to disease or age, dental implants may be installed in the affected location of the upper or lower jaw to hold a single tooth or in multiple locations to hold a dental bridge.
Implantation is made in the alveolar ridge of the patient. Since the alveolar ridge varies in depth, being higher at a patient's incisors and being lower from the canines to the molars, i.e., herein “reduced-depth locations,” dental implants must also vary in the installation depth. Thus, in practice, dental manufacturers vary the implant-seated portion, which is the portion implanted in the bone and which is below the bottom of the patient's gum.
The implant seated portion typically consists of the thread portion, which retains the implant in the alveolar ridge and prevents dislocation, of dental implants. Dental implants that are used to replace incisors will have a longer implant-seated portion than dental implants used to replace canines, i.e., cuspids, pre-molars, or molars.
However, typical dental implants require certain anchorage depths when installed in reduced-depth locations. Such anchorage may be difficult to achieve when a patient's tooth roots or nerves interfere with the preferred location of the implant-seated portion. Oral surgeons and dentists try to remedy this by re-locating the implant-seated portion, angling the implant-seated portion, or using narrow-body dental implants. These may not satisfactorily resolve the problems.
Thus, what is needed is an implant system that may be effectively used in one or more reduced-depth locations.